Boise State powered through arguably the nation’s best conference this side of the Big Ten with a 21-9 record, including 9-7 in the league. Now we will see if there is an “SEC football” effect. What’s that? The Mountain West has been pummeling its own teams in conference play for the last two months and change, but once they face outside competition, will they prove to be better than many?

La Salle is in a similar spot. The Atlantic 10 was one of the most competitive mid-major conferences, enough so even that VCU coach Shaka Smart took time out of the press conference after his team’s loss to Saint Louis to speak to its quality. This is the centerpiece of Wednesday night, with both teams finding different but equally difficult paths to the Dance.

LIU Brooklyn is one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation. The problem is, for as well as it produces offensively, it is equally offensive on the defensive end. LIU would prefer a track meet, somewhere in the scoring range of the 80s or even 90s. It will be James Madison’s job to either keep up scoring or slow down the pace to limit LIU’s offensive output.

JMU will be without Rayshawn Goins for the first half of Wednesday’s game after he was arrested over the weekend. LIU’s C.J. Garner, Jamal Olasewere, and Jason Brickman will all try to push the tempo and get a lead before Goins is able to get into the game.